Welcome
Garth Brand, M.D.
Residency Program Director
Welcome to the Montana Family Medicine Residency! We are excited to share the opportunities we have for advancing your medical education. MFMR was founded 25 years ago to address the shortage of family physicians in rural areas and among underserved populations. Our success has resulted in 62% of graduates practicing medicine in Montana.
Community Health Center Focus
MFMR was one of the first residencies structured within a Community Health Center and one of the original 11 founding Teaching Health Centers in the nation. Practicing in a Community Health Center has several advantages. Residents learn to care for high-needs patients who have limited resources and limited access to care. They learn to treat patients in the full spectrum of their illness and social milieu while using resources wisely.
In 2017, MFMR received the DeWitt C. Baldwin Jr. Award, one of three programs recognized nationally for humanism in resident education. As a National Committee for Quality Assurance recognized Patient-Centered Medical Home, behavioral health consultants, care managers, and pharmacists are integrated into clinical care teams, helping residents understand the options and resources necessary to surmount obstacles to care. We prepare our graduates to be comfortable with a wide range of practice choices, from rural and frontier communities to underserved populations and hospital settings.
What sets MFMR apart?
- Wilderness Medicine Fellowship through the Wilderness Medicine Society
- Public Health and Advocacy Track
- Maternity Care Track
- Rural Critical Care Fellowship
- Sports Medicine Fellowship / Track
- Mongolia Rotation
MFMR is located in Billings, Montana’s central medical hub. Our two hospitals (Billings Clinic and St. Vincent Healthcare) provide specialty care to an area larger than the entire northeastern United States. Hospital specialists interact daily with providers in rural communities and know the experiences residents need to practice in medically austere environments. Working in these systems gives our residents an excellent opportunity to learn from and develop relationships with specialists they will be working with as rural healthcare providers. We are proud to support the rural training track collaborative which helps share ideas about excellence in rural education.
Many of our residents are drawn to Billings by its proximity to great outdoor adventures—from fishing in pristine trout streams to climbing the state’s highest peaks to mountain biking, skiing, or wilderness camping. Billings’ stable economy offers employment opportunities for spouses, good public and private schools, two colleges, and vibrant entertainment venues. Housing is affordable, enabling many residents to purchase their first homes here. Montana is known as the last best place, and we hope you will come live and learn with us in Montana.
MFMR will be conducting in-person interviews for the 2022-2023 interview season.
Our hope is that this will provide applicants with a first-hand view and experience of not only our program and residents, but a chance to explore Billings and the community. We will however, consider virtual interviews under select circumstances.
The above interview approach continues to support the creation of a diverse and inclusive residency, and is in line with the recommendations of multiple national family medicine organizations.
I invite you to learn more about what MFMR has to offer and enjoy some of our stories from the past 25 years of service to Montana. Welcome to Montana’s first medical residency!
Garth Brand, MD | Program Director
Montana Family Medicine Residency
Assistant Clinical Professor, University of Washington Department of Family Medicine